Names and faces
Fifty years ago, Jimmy Page painted a dragon on his favorite guitar and used it to give birth to Led Zeppelin. Now, in celebration of 50 years of his epic rock band, the beast has come back to life.
The 74-year-old Page said in an interview that the 1959 Fender Telecaster was the “Excalibur” that marked the magical days of 1968, when his former band the Yardbirds dissolved and Led Zeppelin began. He played it on nearly every song on Led Zeppelin’s first album, taking a violin bow to it on the rock classic “Dazed and Confused.” But a well-meaning house-sitter painted over the guitar and an angry Page put it away for decades. He recreated it for the band’s anniversary, and Fender is making an edition for the public. “My whole life is moving so fast at that point,” Page said as he reflected on Led Zeppelin’s 50th anniversary at the Fender guitar factory in California. “Absolutely just a roller-coaster ride.” Flash forward 50 years. Page was assembling a book for the band’s anniversary, and the dragon guitar kept popping up in pictures. Page felt that maybe it was time to bring the old beast back to life. He worked with a graphic artist who helped illustrate the book, using photos to repaint the guitar and re-create its old look. He loved the result so much that he approached Fender to make an anniversary rendition for the public. “It’s absolutely identical,” Page said. “You wouldn’t see any difference. If anything, the colors were just slightly richer.” Four different versions of the guitar will be released next year.
Pharrell Williams isn’t too “Happy” with President Donald Trump. On Monday, a lawyer for the musician filed a cease and desist letter against the president after Trump used Williams’ song “Happy” during a rally in Indiana on Saturday, hours after a gunman burst into Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and killed 11 people. “On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” the letter reads. “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.” Williams also said Trump is not allowed to use any of his music without permission. It’s unclear who chose the music for Saturday’s event in Indiana, which was technically a National FFA Organization convention, not one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” rallies. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Williams is not the first recording artist to demand Trump stop using their music. The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Queen, Adele, Elton John and Aerosmith have all called on Trump to stop playing their songs at his political events.